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Owning Up to Responsibility
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By Inspired Protagonist - October 26, 2009

Toyota LogoWhen a corporation gets it wrong and bad things happen, we've come to expect a fairly standard response. Public relations teams twist facts and logic. Blame is aggressively laid elsewhere. Innocence is strongly proclaimed, and not much changes. At best we get a fix or a settlement without any admission of wrongdoing, and business as usual is free to continue.

So it was refreshing to see the new president of Toyota offer not just one but a whole series of mea culpas in a recent speech to reporters at the Japan National Press Club.

Akio Toyoda offered a mournful apology for an August car crash that killed four Californians and triggered an enormous recall. Then he admitted the company was unprepared for the current global recession, had caused economic suffering by closing its first U.S. factory, and was making products the Japanese don't like, all of which required apologies as well.

In Japan's often rigid business culture, this was the equivalent of falling on your sword. While the Times article points out that big splashy expressions of regret like this are often nothing more than convenient cover for inaction, Mr. Toyoda, for the time being, deserves the benefit of the doubt. His courage should be acknowledged and the example he set should be encouraged in board rooms everywhere.

Accepting accountability for one's actions and for the actions and decisions of the company one leads, is the critical step to on the journey toward real corporate responsibility and the meaningful systemic change it will create. Without fully and honestly embracing our culpability for the negative outcomes our poor decisions and flawed judgments create, we can't become people capable of instituting legitimate change. Before we can alter our course, we need to understand how we strayed to begin with, and that means owning our mistakes.

There's no dishonor or embarrassment in this. Our fallibilities are what make us human, and though it's a bit counterintuitive, we should be grateful for them because they're the lens through which we can more easily see those things about ourselves and our companies most in need of correction. Mr. Toyoda seems to realize this. Now it's up to the rest of the corporate world to follow his lead.

Comments
I agree, Jeffrey!
Posted by Jensen | Mon, Oct. 26, 2009

I agree, Jeffrey!

Old fashioned credibility
Posted by mplsfamily | Wed, Nov. 11, 2009

Bless Mr. Toyoda! It used to be a sign of honesty and credibility when a person admitted to a mistake, they weren't villified for it. If anything, people respected them and gave them the benefit of the doubt, recognizing that everyone makes mistakes and the actions in question weren't a way to get ahead at other people's expense. Now, it's practically economic suicide for a company to say it made a mistake, mostly because our economic system is so worried about making a profit it minimizes and avoids admitting problems that were caused. We've lost some good, solid values in our efforts to blame problems on someone. Bless Mr. Toyoda! It's hard to take so much responsibility, but I respect what he has done, I am proud that we have a Prius hybrid. I certainly will be proud to use Toyota's products in the future!

Not so
Posted by nicmart | Wed, Nov. 11, 2009

Considering how many products are available for sale, their safety and quality is amazingly good. Most of the time when there is a problem the corporation does take responsibility, but do consumers? One need only stand near the return line at Target or Walmart to see how many consumers misuse or abuse products and then return them for a refund. We all know how consumers abuse the legal system with frivolous claims. The cost of these claims is borne by other consumers. Costco eliminated its lifetime return policy for electronics products because of systemic consumer abuse. Just about every time I use my car I see drivers who act irresponsibly, but they display no remorse. With occasional exception, when I walk out of a store with a product, I'm confident it will work well. Capitalism is a great incentive for companies to offer quality goods and services. If they don't then they cease to exist -- unless they are bailed out by government. Who makes better products, Toyota or GM and Chrysler?

Actions speak louder than words-not in Toyota's case!
Posted by PIOTR | Wed, Nov. 11, 2009

How come this problem wasn't solved from the beginning? Why did all those poor people have to lose their lives? Just like Toyota to always switch blame on the customer. I am not only speaking of the recent massive recall, but also of my own experience with Toyota. Saying sorry doesn't always fix the problem, the problem should have never occured in my case and in the case of those innocent people in the first place. I owned vehicles from Ford, Chrysler and GM and was never treated with total disregard and disrespect as I was from Toyota. I even wrote a letter to Mr. Aimee Toyoda and still nothing was done about my problem. I totally sympathize with those poor people who lost their loved ones and am disgusted with Toyota. Will never buy a vehicle from them again!!!!!!!

Toyota Quality
Posted by jbc | Sat, Nov. 14, 2009

My experience with Toyota has been very positive. This company makes a very good quality vehicle that has a high level of reliability. I also found emissions on the Camry I owned were very low. In my view good service and respect for the customer are key characteristics of Toyota. The public apologies are encouraging in this day of pressure on corporations to "save face". Time will tell and my hope is that Toyota will come through in responding responsibly to past mistakes. When each of us takes time to reflect and learn from mistakes, those around us and our communities benefit.

Accountability is necessary
Posted by Mommyto3grils | Sun, Nov. 22, 2009

We don't live far from where the horrible crash occured, and drive past the erected memorial almost weekly - my heart still goes out to the family. The floormat issue has been the only cause for the crash stated thus far, and it appears that will continue to be the case. However, according to our local news, it was reported that the floormat installed came from another model of Lexus - not from the model of car that crashed. Shouldn't the Lexus dealer that loaned the car take responsibility? Did Toyota ship the Lexus with the wrong mats, or did the dealership mix them up? As a Toyota owner, I was pleased to see that he at least offered an apology. I only imagine that lawsuits will be filed, and then we will see how genuine Mr. Toyoda's apoligy is. I'm just sorry that the deaths of four people were needed for the recall to be issued.

Moveon.org campaign
Posted by shaynek | Mon, Nov. 30, 2009

What do you think of MoveOn.org's campaign against Toyota and the US Chamber of Commerce. Here is a link to it.

Move On is right on.
Posted by Inspired Protagonist | Wed, Dec. 2, 2009

Move On is right on. But Toyota doesn't deserve to be singled out. There are lots of companies that have no business supporting the Chamber. Responsible companies that are committed to sustainability should join the American Sustainable Business Council.